Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Mentha spicata leaves aqueous extracts in different regions of Algeria and their antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities

Purpose: To evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Mentha spicata (MS) leaves aqueous extracts obtained from different regions (El-Oued, Tebessa and El-Tarf) of Algeria, as well as their in vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. Methods: Aqueous extracts were obtained from the air-dried leaves of MS by maceration followed by filtration and evaporation using a rotary evaporator. Folin-Ciocalteu and Aluminium chloride colorimetric techniques were used to determine the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, respectively. The radical DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP tests were used to determine their antioxidant activities, while the in vitro inhibition percentages of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes were used to assess the anti-diabetic activity. Results: The El-Oued's extract exhibited the highest total phenolic content (108.94 mg GAE/g dry extract (DE)), while the highest total flavonoid content (0.039 mg QE/g DE) was found in El-Tarf's extract. The radical DPPH and FRAP scavenging activity of the El-Oued extract exhibited the highest inhibition activities (IC50 = 102.5 and 289.5 μg/mL), respectively, while the ABTS inhibition activity of the El-Tarf extract exhibited a maximum IC50 value of 111 ± 2.8 μg/mL. The MS extract of the El-Oued region had the highest α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzyme activities with IC50 values of 121.4 and 216.9 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The leaves of Mentha spicata exhibit high phenolic and flavonoid contents, along with significant antioxidant and antidiabetic properties. This study reveals that Mentha spicata flavonoid and phenolic contents as well as other properties vary by region

Cynanchum Acutum L: Phytochemical Screening, Allelopathic and Cyto/Genotoxicity Effects in the Plant Model Arachis Hypogaea

Abstract The plant Cynanchum acutum L. growing in the Algerian desert is a weed a climber, but it has been used in popular medicine. This plant is rich in biologically active compounds, so it can be valued and exploited to produce specific biopesticides. In this regard, the work aims to assess the allelopathic effect of the aqueous extract of the air part of Cynanchum ActumL through phytochemical screening, where the results showed that the plant contained (coumarins, ,saponins polyphenols, flavonoids, alcaloids, terpenes,tannins, quinones, aldehydes, and cardioglycoside ). Four levels of concentration were tested (control,15mg/ml, 30mg/ml and 45mg/ml) where the extract affected negatively on all indicators of germination and initial development of Arachis hypogaea L. And their value decreased linearly until it disappeared at a concentration of 45 mg/ml, and the percentage of inhibition linearly increased until it reached 100% at concentration 45 mg/ml with statistically significant differences recorded. This confirms the existence of an inhibition process that was confirmed by the microscopic study to detect the cytotoxicity of the seeds of Arachis hypogaea L. Treatment with an aqueous extract with a concentration that inhibits root growth 50%, which was extracted from the root growth equation, which showed a decrease in the mitotic index with the observation of chromosomal abnormalities such as (the beginning of the formation of 2 micronucleus at interphase, micronucleus at interphase, binucleated cells at interphase, disturbed at metaphase, stickiness at metaphase, oblique at metaphase, fragments at metaphase, bridge at anaphase, and binucleated cells diagonal)

Pre-operative renal function and selective renal vein rennin levels as markers of favourable outcome in renovascular hypertension

Objective: To evaluate factors that affect outcome following revascularization in patients with renovascular hypertension. Methods: This study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital. It included all the patients diagnosed to have Renovascular hypertension confirmed by renal angiography between July 1996 to September 2000. Using ANOVA (Analysis of variance) and paired-sample t-test, several preoperative factors were evaluated for their ability to predict postoperative improvement of blood pressure and renalfunction. For descriptive purpose patients were divided into cured, improved and failure groups. Results: Of the total 15 patients, 9 were males and 6 were females. Before the surgical procedure, 13 patients were on 3 or more antihypertensive drugs. Eleven patients received vein grafts, three patients had PTFE (polytetraflouroethyline) grafts while one patient underwent angioplasty and stenting. The patients had a median follow-up period of nine months with a range of 2 to 84 months. Five were completely cured, as they became normotensive without antihypertensive therapy after operation, whereas four showed marked improvement in BP control postoperatively, requiring two antihypertensive drugs. Six patients showed no improvement requiring 3 or more drugs. Extended cure or improvement of renovascular hypertension was achieved in nine patients. Normal preoperative serum creatinine level, high preoperative unstimulated peripheral renin levels and renal vein renin ratio of at least 1.75:1 were the most significant predictive factors for favorable outcome. Conclusion: This study confirms the long term effectiveness and safety of renovascular reconstruction in the relief of severe hypertension. The results further suggest that normal preoperative renal function, high renal vein renin ratio and high preoperative unstimulated peripheral renin levels are associated with the most favourable postoperative outcome (p \u3c0.01). Preoperative severity and duration of hypertension and degree of disparity in kidney sizes do not affect the overall results in terms of postoperative improvement in renal function and blood pressure control (p=0.734)

Assessment of the antimicrobial and free radical scavenging activities of Moluccella spinosa, Helichrysum sanguineum, and Styrax officinalis folkloric medicinal plants from Palestine

The emergence of pathogenic microbes with increased resistance to established antibiotics provides a major incentive for the discovery of new antimicrobial agents. Herbals may provide valuable solutions for this global problem. In addition, the replacement of harmful synthetic antioxidants with natural ones may prevent various serious diseases. The present investigation describes for the first time the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the aqueous and organic extracts of Helichrysum sanguineum, Moluccella spinosa and Styrax officinalis plants aerial parts. The free radical scavenging activity was estimated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl method, while the antimicrobial activity was evaluated against selected microbial strains from American Type Culture Collection and clinical isolates such as Shigella sonnie, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcuss feacium, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Epidermophyton floccosum and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using minimum inhibitory concentration assay. A mixture of phytochemical compounds was found in all of the studied plants extracts which also showed remarkable potentials of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The current study provides initial data that justify the use and importance of these plants in the Palestinian traditional medicine. In addition, it provides evidence that the aqueous and organic extracts of H. sanguineum, M. spinosa and S. officinalis exhibited interesting antioxidant activity comparing with Trolox. Furthermore, the organic extract of H. sanguineum strongly exhibited bacterial growth of S. aureus, E. faecium and MRSA which suggested to be used as antibiotic alternative or as sufficient natural food preservative.The authors acknowledge the assistance of the technicians Mohamad Arar and Linda Esa

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration as a presentation of breast cancer – a case report and review of the literature

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration is part of a rare spectrum of neurological syndromes whereby gynaecological, lung or breast cancers present primarily with neurological manifestations. The presence of onconeural antibodies and PET scanning help in the challenging diagnosis of these conditions but despite the treatment of the primary cancer, the prognosis for the neurological symptoms is poor

Sensitive surface plasmon resonance performance of cadmium sulfide quantum dots-amine functionalized graphene oxide based thin film towards dengue virus E-protein

An optical sensor for the dengue virus (DENV) E-protein based on cadmium sulfide quantum dots composited with amine functionalized graphene oxide (CdS-NH2GO) thin film was successfully developed. A specific monoclonal antibodies (IgM) were covalently attached to CdS-NH2GO via EDC/NHS coupling to sense targeted E-proteins. The SPR sensor exhibited an excellent detection limit (0.001 nM/1 pM) with sensitivity of 5.49° nM−1 for the detection of DENV E-protein. The binding affinity, as well as the performance of the Au/CdS-NH2GO/EDC-NHS/IgM film, was successfully obtained at 486.54 nM−1 in detecting DENV E-proteins. These results indicated that the Au/CdS-NH2GO/EDC-NHS/IgM film shows high potential sensitive and stronger binding towards DENV E-protein

Synthesis and characterization of ZnO-SiO2 composite using oil palm empty fruit bunch as a potential silica source

In this paper, the structural and optical properties of ZnO-SiO2-based ceramics fabricated from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) were investigated. The OPEFB waste was burned at 600, 700 and 800 °C to form palm ash and was then treated with sulfuric acid to extract silica from the ash. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirmed the existence of SiO2 in the sample. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) showed that the particles displayed an irregular shape and became finer after leaching. Then, the solid-state method was used to produce the ZnO-SiO2 composite and the samples were sintered at 600, 800, 1000, 1200 and 1400 °C. The XRD peaks of the Zn2SiO4 showed high intensity, which indicated high crystallinity of the composite. FESEM images proved that the grain boundaries were larger as the temperature increased. Upon obtaining the absorbance spectrum from ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, the energy band gaps obtained were 3.192, 3.202 and 3.214 eV at room temperature, 600 and 800 °C, respectively, and decreased to 3.127, 2.854 and 2.609 eV at 1000, 1200 and 1400 °C, respectively. OPEFB shows high potential as a silica source in producing promising optical materials

Synthesis and optical properties of europium doped zinc silicate prepared using low cost solid state reaction method

This paper presents a study on synthesis and optical properties of Zn2SiO4:1 wt% Eu3+ at different heat treatments. The objective of the research is to synthesize Zn2SiO4:1 wt% Eu3+ phosphor by using low cost solid state reaction method with recycled waste bottle glasses as the silicate source. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the prepared Zn2SiO4:1 wt% Eu3+ phosphors have a sharp diffraction peak as the heat treatment temperatures were increased from 600 to 1000 °C. Furthermore, the morphology from the Field emission scanning electron microscope analysis were shown the formation of well crystalline samples with dense packed grains due to the increment of heat treatment temperatures. Fourier transform infrared spectra has confirmed the present elements in Zn2SiO4:1 wt% Eu3+ phosphors while the narrow width of Raman line spectra were observed at temperatures ranging from 700 to 1000 °C indicates good homogeneity and crystallinity of synthesized powders. In addition, the energy band gap of europium doped zinc silicate increased dramatically up to 3.62 eV at temperature of 1000 °C. Photoluminescence measurements has also exhibited the red emission corresponding to the 5D0 → 7F2 (600 nm) when viewed under blue excitation

Manganese modified structural and optical properties of zinc soda lime silica glasses

A series of MnO-doped zinc soda lime silica glass systems was prepared by a conventional melt and quenching technique. In this study, the x-ray diffraction analysis was applied to confirm the amorphous nature of the glasses. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy shows the glass network consists of MnO4, SiO4, and ZnO4 units as basic structural units. The glass samples under field emission scanning electron microscopy observation demonstrated irregularity in shape and size with glassy phase-like structure. The optical absorption studies revealed that the optical bandgap

Optical band gap and photoluminescence studies of Eu3+-doped zinc silicate derived from waste rice husks

In this study, investigation on photoluminescence and optical properties of europium doped zinc silicate (Zn2SiO4:Eu3+) glass ceramics derived from white rice husk ash as potential silica source have been done. Undoped and 3 wt. % of europium doped zinc silicate were prepared by solid state method and sintered at 600–1000 °C for 2 h. XRD analysis revealed the phase formation of amorphous, α or β-Zn2SiO4:Eu3+ phases of the glass and glass ceramic samples. FESEM results show the samples were irregular in shapes but well connected and formed large grain crystallites as sintering temperatures increases. The optical band gap values for undoped samples are increasing from 2.97 eV to 3.39 eV respectively. Meanwhile, the optical band gap values for 3 wt. % Eu3+ doped samples decrease from 4.14 eV to 2.62 eV and increase again to 3.71 eV as sintering temperature increases. PL analysis concludes that the red emission exhibited corresponding to 5D0 → 7F2 electron configuration at 612 nm while excitation spectra was found at 400 nm attributed to 7F0 → 5L6 transition. As conclusion, Eu3+ doped Zn2SiO4 glasses has potential as glass host phosphor which can be used for optical devices such as plasma display panels (PDPs) and cathode ray tubes